2006
WORLD OF PINOT NOIR - SHELL BEACH, CA-Saturday, March 4, 2006. Report on the "Pinot by the
Sea" tasting at the 2006 annual World
of Pinot Noir, held at
The Cliffs Resort in Shell Beach, CA. The event focused on North
American Pinot Noir, although there were several other Pinots from
Burgundy and New Zealand.

This event
was held over a three-day weekend, encompassing seminars, dinners
and comparative tastings, and finally finishing with a large outdoor
tasting where wineries poured some of their currently available
wines. I only attended the tasting portion of this event, which
was very up-front and friendly, offering plenty of opportunity to
talk with the proprietors and winemakers first hand. The crowds
were moderate in size, and it was relatively easy to visit with
winemakers, proprietors and reps - well, except for Kosta Browne,
with was quite crowded most of the day.

The tasting
notes below give a brief description of the wine's attributes and/or
qualities. These wines were generally the current releases for each
winery, although some wineries were offering samples from yet-to-be-released
vintages.

Overall
impressions: The Cliffs Resort provided a beautiful venue,
with a fabulous cheese spread located in the huge tent on a cliffside
overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Overall, there was an excellent lineup
of Pinot producers, and the tasting was excellent. I do wish there
had been a larger sampling of wines at each table, but on the other
hand, that would also have significantly increased the traffic at
each table.

I've tried
Pinots from many of these producers in the past, and knew what to
expect. However, I found some surprises from Dierberg,
Native-9, Alma Rosa and Silver
- which were all very good. Others - notably from Bonaccorsi,
Peay, Dehlinger, Patz & Hall and a sleeper from Harrington
were among the my favorites.

Disappointments?
Well, maybe a few - probably more due to the 2004 vintage, than
to erratic winemaking. Also, there seemed to be a dearth of wines
at each table - at least by some organized event standards. However,
I suspect the event coordinators purposely instructed the wineries
to pour no more than three wines at the tastings. Sure, it might
have been nice had wineries provided more depth by having a few
of their additional bottlings. But, that would've caused greater
traffic jams at each table, and made it difficult to visit more
producers. Besides, there were plenty of wines available, and this
may even have been an embarrassment of riches.

Comments:
Peter & Rebecca Work's (formerly Wine @ Work) is now officially
off the ground. One of the more recent Santa Rita Hills vineyards
(further east than Melville) is producing some very nice fruit,
some of which is going to other producers.

ALMA
ROSA

2004
Pinot Noir - Encantada. Richard and Thekla Sanford's new label,
and the wine looks like a winner. Lovely red and black fruit, excellent
body and balance, and long finish.

Comments:
after Richard Sanford left his eponymous winery last year, many
wondered how he'd fare. I'd say, just fine, thank you.

Comments:
starting to see some changes - for the better, with new winemaker
Greg Lafollette aboard.

DEHLINGER

2003
Pinot Noir - Russian River. Terrific nose of light forest floor
scents, lots of cherry fruit, and a pinch of spice. Moderately full
on the palate, with plenty of fruit, excellent balance, and long
juicy finish.

2000
Pinot Noir - Russian River. Similar to the '03, though less
expansive on the palate, and the fruit seemed less forward. That
said, there were more interesting notes in the nose and palate,
with a finer degree of bark and sap in the nose, and a bit of leaf
on th epalate.

Comments:
although his wines spoke quite ably for themselves, it was fabulous
to see Tom Dehlinger come to this event.

Comments:
with fruit from the York Mountain AVA near Paso Robles, this producer
bears watching.

KOSTA
BROWNE

2004
Pinot Noir - Russian River. Very rich in nose and mouth, with
expansive flavors, very nice balance and long flavorful finish.

Comments:
not much can be said of KB that hasn't been mentioned already. Arguably
the hottest Pinot producer in CA at the moment, their table was
jammed throughout the entire tasting. But, I managed to get my glass
in just close enough to get a pour of the RRV.

MACMURRAY

2003
Pinot Noir - Russian River. Nice sappy spice to the dark cherry
nose. Very good mouthfeel and balance, lots of spicy fruit, and
long finish.

2004
Pinot Noir - Russian River. Similar to the '03, but not quite
as rounded, and somewhat more ripe in profile.

Comments:
the former Fred MacMurray Ranch is the namesake here. I hadn't expected
much, but was plesantly surprised.

MON
LIS

2004
Pinot Noir - Santa Lucia Highlands. Good cherry and dark cherry
in the nose. Bit too sweet on the palate; good balance and finish.

Comments:
always on the edge with his acids and fruit, winemaker Benjamin
Silver had several beauties he was pouring, and was the obvious
exception to the "rule" of pouring less that three wines.
Way to go Ben.